HISTORY

SIEGE AND FALL OF

The Mehmed Turks II were at the entrance of Constantinople, the symbol city of and its fall meant the tryumph of over the most persistent and firm defender of Christendom for about 800 years. The , after which Mehmed would be called “the Conqueror”, was possible due to the sultan strategic perception. He understood that without the control of the maritime access to the city, little could be done by his powerful troops. Thus, land and navy forces were able to subdue a courageously defended place which, for centuries, had resisted innumerable sieges and blocks.

By Rubén A. Barreiro

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he situation in the mid 15th century On May 29, 2013, it was the 560th anniversary of the Fall The decay of Byzantine was more than evident: in the territorial of Constantinople in the hands of the . T aspect, it only had the city of with this, doors were open to the centre of and the Constantinople and its adjacent territories of little extension which lie consequences of this are still seen. on the coast of the Black Sea and the The author presents the war fact that led to this process ; to the interior, it had domain over a few kilometres. In the and, at the same time, a broad scope for the analysis of , in the south of , said consequences, especially, in the aspects regarding it kept the Despotate of the , which, in theory, was under Byzantine geopolitics, strategy, sociology and culture control but physically separated by a vast territory under the domain of the Ottoman Turks. Some islands In light of this, the huge flood successor. Both of them were the and small enclaves were still under of Ottoman Turks took possession protagonists of the final battle. the domain of the Empire, some in of great part of ( distant places, such as the Peninsula Minor) and the Balkanic territories To war of in the Black Sea. in the north, west and south of For Mehmed, the first and most For the Byzantine, the 14th century Constantinople. The city was important [of his obligations] was was a period of political failure1; this surrounded. the conquest of Constantinople3. The is why at the end of this century… In 1451, Sultan Murad II died in desire of the sultan is not surprising: Constantinople… was no more than a (Adrianapole) and his son during the long fight between the melancholic and decaying city, whose Mehmed II, 19, succeeded him2. Some Byzantine and the Muslim, the city population had significantly declined time before, in 1449, the Byzantine had been sieged several times, as from from half a million in the 12th century emperor John VIII had died and 676, by and Ottoman. All of to no more than fifty thousand. Constantine XI was his these attempts failed4.

1. Runciman, Steven; La caída de Constantinopla; Espasa-Calpe, Madrid; 1973; p. 12. 2. Seven years before, Murad had abdicated in favor of his 12- year son; however, and due to the discontent of ministries and the military with the new King, he had to take the throne again two years later although he had taken the control of the army before. 3. Runciman, Steve; op. cit., p. 47. During the winter 1452/53, the vizier Chalil visited Mehmed and gave him, as it was a tradition, some gold coins. The sultan rejected the present saying: “I want one thing only, give me Constantinople”. 4. The Ottoman called the Balkan “Rume-eli” or , that is, “land of the Romans”. Both Mehmed II and his closest predecessors asked to be called Sultan-i-Rum, whose meaning could be “sovereign of the Romans” and have a connotation related to those who subjugated with the strength of guns. Muslims from the East often referred to the Ottoman as rumiyun, “Romans” (Nicolle, David et al., The Fall of Constantinople. The Ottoman Conquest of Byzantium, Osprey; Oxford; 2007; p. 174.)

13 HISTORY

BLACK SEA

EDIRNE CONSTANTINOPLE

DESPOTATE OF THE MOREA

Mehmet II

To the end of January, 1453, Mehmed gathered his ministers and persuaded them to authorize the war BIZANTIUM in order to conquer the city: OTTOMANS …He declared that the Turkish Empire would never be safe until Source: Author they could take possession of Constantinople. The Byzantine could be weak, but despite having city would only be successful if it coordination with the one existing showed how well they could manage included a naval component in their on the coast of Anatolia (Anadolu the enemies of the Turks and, due to forces6. The sultan foresaw that his Hisari)8, would serve two purposes: their weakness, they could put the navy would have the main goal of ensuring a free path from one side of city in the hands of allies that would preventing aid from getting to the the strait to the other and controlling not be so inefficient. Constantinople people sieged and avoiding a fight the ships coming from Venetian and was unassailable. The first sieges against the Venetian war galleys that Genovese colonies of the Black Sea. failed due to external reasons5. were prowling in the area7. Moreover, during the siege of the city, Mehmed II, “who was an outstanding At the beginning of the year the fortress would be an impassable strategist”, carefully planned his 1451, Mehmed had decided to build bastion so that aid could come from future assault against Constantinople. a fortress on the European coast the east and the fleet would have to He warned that the siege of the of the Bosphorus. This fortress, in serve as those in the western accesses.

5. Runciman, Steve; op. cit.; p. 57. persuade Mehmed not to continue with it, but the sultan replied without leaving any doubt: 6. Philippides, Marios y Hanak, Walter A.; The Siege and the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. Historiography, He would do what he wanted to do in a that was under his control and concluded: I Topography, and Military Studies; Ashgate; Farham; 2011; p. 429. will skin anyone who dares to talk about this issue in the future. The Byzantine weakness 7. As we will see, the crew of Turk vessels (most of which were Greek) was of lower quality than could be seen: in the construction, they used columns from a Christian temple and killed the the potential enemies. This situation was understood by Mehmed and he knew they had to inhabitants who tried to prevent that. Only Italians (Genoese, Venetian) could successfully be avoid those encounters. involved but they were not interested in the Levante issues and their indifference encouraged 8. In this area, the Bosphorus is around 800 meters wide. Sultan’s imperialist plans (Philippides, Marios; op. cit.; pp. 403/404.) 9. The inhabitants of the city were alarmed with this construction. Emperor Constantine tried to 10. Runciman, Steve; op. cit.; p. 15.

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To the end of August, 1452 and after four months and half work, the The Turk Army was trained in , in the west fortress of Rumeli Hisar (“Rumelian of Constantinople. Different authors disagree on the castle”) was built (the Greeks called it Laemocopia, or murderer’s castle or, number of troops of this army. According to Runciman, more precisely, executioner’s castle9). the most reliable figure is 80,000 regular force men, Any vessel passing in front of it on the Bosphorus had to stop to be inspected apart from 20,000 bashi-bazouks and some thousands and had to pay a contribution; two of assistants. One of the best known eyewitnesses, Venetian vessels eluded the rule, but a third vessel got sunk due to the shots the Venetian surgeon Niccolo Barbaro says that Mahomet of three huge fortress and its went to Constantinople with 160,000 men. Fuller says captain was impaled and left by the wayside. there were 50,000 men. Meanwhile, Emperor Constantine was still looking for support from the West, as his predecessor did. The with the Turks by dominating Constantinople with 160,000 men14. question was, essentially, to try to unite Constantinople. Fuller speaks of 50,00015. both Christian churches: Roman and It was made up of three types Orthodox. This, in other words, meant Ottoman forces of troops: the Janissary (“new for Byzantium to abide by the Roman In light of this situation, Mehmed troops or “new soldiers”), the bashi- Church. But in Constantinople, started a campaign against the city bazouk and the men recruited from only politicians and intellectual men of Constantinople. He had gathered a different provinces. The first of them, defended the union 10 11. For John VIII, powerful fleet with almost 130 vessels considered by Fuller as the most Constantine’s older brother, only the of all types as he knew that having fantastic fighters of the 15th century, western aid would save the Empire… domain over the sea would contribute were between 12,000 and 15,000, a Only the western Church could make the to victory. relatively small number and this may West agree on the release of the East12. The Turk army was preparing in be why they did not have a decisive However, the events showed that Thrace, in western Constantinople. influence on the war16. In general, they the West was not interested in saving There are very different figures were dismounted archers, who were Byzantium. The different kings regarding its number of troops: highly disciplined, militarly trained entertained themselves at home13. According to Runciman, the most since they were very young (they were Venetian, Geonese and Ragusans, reliable number is 80,000 regular recruited among teenagers and even who had different interests in the force men, plus 20,000 bashi-bazouk kids), a standing force for the direct region, took care of the issue, but and several thousands of assistants. service of the sultan and those who thought mainly about the defense of One of the best known eyewitnesses were Christians were turned to Islam17. those interests frequently wondering in the area, Venetian surgeon, Nicolò The bashi-bazouk (which means whether they would be favoured Barbaro, says that Mehmed went to “disorganized” or “airhead”) were

11. On December 12, 1452, in Constantinople, there was the union of the Catholic and Orthodox www.deremilitari.org/resources/sources/constantinople3.htm. Runciman (62) says that this diary, churches as a consequence of what was agreed in the Ferrara-Florence Council. Although the court without any extra information, presents the most probable description of the siege. The Turk return of this and the nobles were part of the event, it was repudiated by the anti- union clergy and great part description is the one by Hermodoros Michael Kritovoulos, who was at the service of Mehmed and spent of the people. Lucas Notarasl, last great Byzantine minister, was said to have a strong position: his last days in Constantinople (which was already Istambul), as a monk (for the paragraphs related to the “We prefer the turban of the sultan to the cardinal’s hat”. Some time later, he was decapitated as siege, see http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/sources/constantinople4.htm). ordered by Mehmed, together with his two sons. 15. Fuller, John F.C.; Batallas decisivas del mundo occidental y su influencia en la historia; Luis de 12. Runciman, Steve; op. cit.; pp. 20/21. Caralt Ed.; Barcelona, 1961; tomo I; p. 579. Runciman remembers that the Greek estimated that the 13. Frederick III from Habsburg prepared his Coronation; Charles VII from France was recovering after Turk army amounted to three to four hundred thousand men and that the most moderate among the Hundred Years’ War, as the King of England did. The monarchs from Castile were busy with their the Venetian made them amount to five hundred thousand. own war against the unloyal. Only Alfonso V of Aragon seemed to be interested but he demanded an 16. Oman, Charles; A History of the Art of War in the ; Burt Franklin; New York; 1925; vol. I; p. 342. excessive price, thus impossible, for the throne of Constantinople. (Runciman, Steve; op. cit.; p. 49.) 17. Delbruck, Hans; History of the Art of War, Volume III, Medieval Warfare; University of Nebraska 14. Giornale dell’Assedio di Costantinopoli, 1453. Translated into English by John Melville-Jones Diary of the Press; Westport; 1990; p. 474/475. Siege of Constantinople 1453, New York: Exposition Press, 1969, partially available on the website http:// 18. Fuller, John F. C.; op. cit.; p. 580.

15 HISTORY

irregular soldiers, an undisciplined mob of Turks poorly armed and renegade Christians18. Apparently, their pay was only the chance to loot conquered cities (according to Fuller, the Turk attack started with the call “loot!”19). However, the most important force of the Turks was artillery, in which they trusted to get victory “spending powder and saving blood”. Mehmed had 70 cannons and bombards, although the main instrument was the Basilica20, a huge iron that shoot 800- pound ammunitions. Basilica. 8 meters long. Diameter: 75cm. Weight of : 18 tons. Weight of projectile: 544kg. Reaches 2 km. Its inventor and constructor, , from Hungary, had first offered his services to Constantine but he could it, both on the land and the marine merchant vessels that were in the port not afford the price Orban requested access (see details). were turned into warships. Then, the and considered it excessive, especially This could make up, only in part Genoeses, led by because he did not have the elements as it is natural, for the small number Longo25, were accompanied by seven to build it. It took forty two days, sixty of defenders. Under the order of the hundred soldiers from , oxes and more than two hundred men emperor, they amounted to only 5,000 and Rhodes. There were led to take it from Adrianapole, an effort men and 2,000 foreigners with few by Peré Julia (consul) and some men that did not have the expected result cannons and a small fleet22. from other nations. Others, instead, as after some shots, it burst and could Although most of the Christian ran away: on February 27, about seven not be used again21. sovereigns, as explained, chose to be hundred Italians left the city in seven silent upon the Bizantine request, there vessels. The defense of Constantinople were foreigners who were actively The first and most important defense involved in the defense of the city23. The siege of the city was, on the one hand, the First, Venetians, whose colony The movement of troops and vessels of characteristics of the terrain on which in the city offered unconditional the Ottomans increased since January, it was erected; on the other hand, the support… to honor God and all 1453. To the end of March, Mehmed great chain of walls that protected Christianity24 and nine Venetian left Edirne and set his camp in Maltepe on April 2 (on Sunday 1, the distressed inhabitants of the city had celebrated Easter), while Constantine, without doubts of the coming attack, ordered to lay down the chain that blocked the entrance to , destroy the bridges that went through the ditches and close the doors of the city. The plan of the Ottomans had some military considerations as guidelines: 1. Act quickly to get a decisive victory before there is a reaction from the West. 2. Spend gunpowder and money and save blood. 3. Use the huge cannons to destroy the walls of the city and the fleet to prevent the arrival of food and reinforcement.

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4. Take the city with as few Initial deployment material destructions and loss of inhabitants’ lives as possible as these people would be the future KARADYA BAJA SARAGOS BAJÁ subjects of the sultan. BASHI-BAZOUKS Instead, the main target of MINOTTO Constantine was to cope with the siege RUMELIANS SARAGOS BAJÁ as long as possible to give Hungary MOHAMED GOLDEN HORN some time to prepare the land or sea GIUSTINIANI BASHI-BAZOUKS intervention from Italy26. CONSTANTINE From April 4 to 6, 1453, the siege JANNIZARIES BOSPHORUS was started with the arrival and CHAIN CONSTANTINE deployment of Ottomans in front of NIKEPHOROS PALAIOLOGOS the city walls. Mehmed ordered half of his troops to move 1,5 km away CATTANEO from the outer walls and the next day a great part of the Ottomans were less ISA BAJÁ TEOPHILOS PALAIOLOGOS

than four hundred meters away from ANATOLIANS the defense. Bizantine troops had already been deployed in this defense. FILIPPO CONTARINI To the right, the Turks deployed the Anatolians commanded by Muhmad and Isa Pasha; in the SEA OF MARMARA middle, the sultan with the Janissary and to the left, the Rumelian contingents commanded by Karabya Source: Author Pasha. A thousand soldiers were sent to the opposite side of the Golden Horn from which a detachment was Blachernes); emperor Constantine the Genoeses troops led by Mauricio set to observe . and his Bizantine troops as well as Cattaneo; then, Teophilos Palaiologos Meanwhile, the Bizantine the Giustiniani Genoeses (to the defended from the Reghium door to occupied the walls in the following right of Constatine) were in the area Pegac; from the latter to the Golden order, from right- Golden Horn- to considered to be the most exposed, Gate, there were the Venetians led by left- Sea of Marmara-: from the sea the one on both sides of Lycus river Filipo Contarini. To the back of the to Kerkoporta, the Venetians led by between the gates of Chasirios and sector defended by the emperor and Girolamo Minotto (they particularly Saint Romanos; from the gate of Saint Giustiniani, there was the reserve led defended the empire palace, Romanos to Reghium, there were by Nikephoros Palaiologos. On the

19. The Muslim tradition set some principles with relation to the conquered cities. If the city who were apt for combat: 4.983 Greeks and less than 2,000 foreigners. The emperor, afraid of the gave in, there would be no looting, but only compensation and the worship places would be figures, ordered not to disclose them (Runciman, Steve: op. cit.; p. 64.) The population of the city respected. With some differences, this was applied to the surrender after an unsustainable amounted to 40,000/50,000 people. The number of combatants was, according to authors, between defense. But if it was necessary to assault the city in order to conquer it, there would be 9,000 and 6,000/7,000 (Setton, Kenneth M.; The Papacy and the Levant (1204- 1571) The Fifteenth looting for three days and the worship places would belong to the leaders of the winners who Century; The American Philosophical Society; Filadelfia; 1978; p. 116). could do what he wanted with them (Runciman, Steve; op. cit.; p. 105). 23. The reasons for this intervention were different: ideas, defense of religious principles, fear of 20. During this time, cannons used to be given a name. For example, in the castle of Edimburgh, losing privilege and getting benefits, as among the most courageous defenders, there were Scotland, one of them, , is still kept. mercenaries as it used to happen in those years. 21. There are different versions about the reason for stopping the combat of the Basilica. While 24. Runciman, Steve; op. cit.; p. 62. some say the event was due to a shot by Giustiniani’s artillery, others think that it was an 25. Giustiniani was an expert in the defense of cities surrounded by walls; therefore, he was immediately accident or an improper management of the impressive bombing by servants, who did not requested to take control of the city next to land walls (Runciman, Steve; op. cit.; p. 63). cool the cannon of the weapon. Whatever it was, the device was kept and is now shown at a 26. Said reinforcement never arrived: three Genoese vessels sent by the Pope were stopped by a Museum in Istambul. storm in Chios. On May 11, Venetians sent some vessels that could not arrive in time. 22. The census that Constantine ordered at the end of March, 1453, gave a small result as regards men planned a sea attack on the Ottoman flank, which did not take place.

17 HISTORY

walls that faced both sea- sides, there were troops of different origin. Since April 6, the city was bombarded during eighteen days although it is necessary to note that cannons were recharged slowly so there were no more than seven or eight shots per day and cannon27. The first day, it seemed that victory was close for the Turks: one part of the wall was seriously damaged in the area where the channel that provided the city with water was on the side next to the Golden Horn; the next day, damages were increased but during the night, defenders were able to fill the gap. Meanwhile, the efforts made by the Turks to force the way that was closed with the chain laid in the entrance of Golden Horn were Mehmed transported vessels by land (among the masts, the city). (Fausto Zonaro 1854- 1929). unsuccessful. But artillery was used against the walls and these collapsed in some places. On April 18, the first who knew that the great number of to blow favourably and they were able of the main attacks took place in the his fleet did not make up for the low to reach the entrance to the Golden area where Lycos entered the city. quality of the crew, had ordered not to Horn, where after opening the chain, There, Mehmed attacked with several start a combat. However, on the date three Venetian vessels came to help soldiers among which the Janissary indicated, four vessels approached and escorted them until they reached Guard standed out. The fight was the sieged city. They carried supplies, a safe port. In this way, Mehmed’s terrible and the people from the city three of them were Genoeses sent fears turned real: Not only did the were also involved. After four hours by the Pope and the fourth was a Christian vessels break the blocking of fight, the Turks withdrew. freighter led by an Italian that tried but they also had few casualties. This to enter the Golden Horn. Mehmed may be due to the fact that European Navy actions in the Golden Horn ordered to capture or sink the convoy vessels were much higher and better Since April 9, nine Venetian galleys and sent a great number of vessels. protected than the Turk vessels and, were defending the entrance to the But, the western crafts were favoured especially, due to the lack of ability of Golden Horn and the port that was by courage, climate conditions and the Ottoman crew28. there. The next day, great part of the the sea. The Turk fleet reached them It was clear for both sides that Turk fleet arrived and anchored in the and a fierce combat started and during getting domain over the Golden Bosphorus, 8 kilometres away from this combat the Christian vessels Horn was essential. Mehmed, then, the city. seemed to be defeated, partly due to tried an audacious solution: avoid On April 20, 1453, the only naval the strong tides that pushed them the chain that blocked the entrance battle related to the siege took place. against the walls. But the wind, which to the estuary transporting ships by As it was explained before, Mehmed, was still until that moment, started land from the Bosphorus. A road was built incredibly quickly by thousands of workers while the Turk artillery distracted defenders. The Turk vessels 27. Batteries were placed according to the walls points that were considered to be the weakest, specially the ones closer to the started to move pulled by oxes with Golden Horn. Orban, the inventor of the Basilica, gave some advice with respect to this, using the knowledge acquired during his the sails open. The Bizantine, on the original relationship with the Byzantine. other shore, saw that strange group 28. The Bulgarian renegade, Balta Oghlu, admiral in charge of the Turk fleet was deprived from leadership by the angry sultan who gave him to his crew (rudely treated by him) to be punished. The nature of the punishment was not known but some starting to go down the slope that versions agree that he was harassed in all senses (Setton, Kenneth; op. cit.; pp. 116/117). would lead them to the Golden Horn. Their desperate attempts to stop

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The land and

The one- thousand history shows the wisdom of Constantine as he chose Byzantium as his new capital. He needed a place XYLOPARTA from which the emperor may exercise his authority over the LYKOS RIVER KALIGARIA KERKOPORTA South- East of Europe and Asia and from which the CHARISIOS GOLDEN HORN and Euphrates rivers could be easily reached… there were few FIFTH MILITARY GATE GALATA places to choose… but none that could be compared to the SAN ROMANO BOSPHORUS promontory Byzantium, in the entrance of the Bosphorus, in FOURTH MILITARY GATE CHAIN

DE TEODOSIO terms of strategic potential (Bury). REGHIUM OLD BYSANTIUM The one- thousand history shows the wisdom of Constantine THIRD MILITARY GATE MURALLA

MURALLA DE CONSTANTINO as he chose Byzantium as his new capital. He needed a place PEGAC from which the emperor may exercise his authority over the SECOND MILITARY GATE South- East of Europe and Asia and from which the Danube and Euphrates rivers could be easily reached… there were few GOLDEN GATE places to choose… but none that could be compared to the SEA OF MARMARA promontory Byzantium, in the entrance of the Bosphorus, in terms of strategic potential (Bury). Beyond the strategic importance of the situation of GATES Constantinople, the geographic characteristics of the place give it a huge advantage in terms of defense against the attacks of possible invaders. centimeters and 2 meters wide and between 9 and 10.5 meters The city was surrounded by water in three of its sides: the high. It also had 96 towers. so- called Golden Horn to the east and the Sea of Marmara to Between the exterior wall and the beacon scarp of the the south and north. The city could be accessed by land only trench, there was another path for movement (peribolo) of 14 through the west. The territory was like a triangle and was six to meters wide. seven kilometres in its longest part and six hundred meters to The trench was about 18 meters wide and it had a variable six or seven kilometres wide. There were some hills of between depth. 80 to 100 meters high and the Lykos river went through it. Apart from this wall that protected land access, several The first wall was built by Constantine. It was three walls surrounded the city for protection purposes with respect kilometres long and went from the Sea of Marmara (Proponeis) to the attacks through the sea. They were more than 14 to Golden Horn. kilometers long and between 10 and 15 meters high and they had During his kingdom, Theodosius II (408-450) decided to build 300 towers. a new wall taking into account that the growth of the city had Golden Horn was also permanently protected by a thick turned Constantine’s wall obsolete and it was necessary to chain supported by pontoons that prevented the entrance extend the protected territory to the west. through the Bosphorus. The edge that corresponded to Galata The wall, known since then as the Theodosius wall or was in a tower from the years of Justinian in which a mechanism Theodosian wall had five parts. The main or inner part was 4.2 could stretch or loosen the chain, as it may be convenient. to 5 meters wide and 11/12 meters high. In this part, there were On May 29, 2013, it was 560 years of the fall of 96 square or octagonal towers which were 18 to 23 meters high, Constantinople in the hands of the Ottoman Empire. Upon this separated one from the other by 50/70 meters. event, the doors opened for expansion to the centre of Europe Between the main wall and the exterior wall, there was a and the aftermath can still be seen. free space, terrace or field (parateikon), of between 15 to 21 The author presents the war event that gave rise to this meters wide used for the movement of defenders and their process and, at the same time, a broad field for the analysis eventual grouping in case of invasion by the enemy. The exterior of those consequences, specially referring to geopolitical, part was thin if compared to the main part: it was between 60 strategic, sociological and cultural aspects.

19 HISTORY

the crowd and prevent vessels from on the side of the Golden Horn. Said Attacks and counterattacks reaching water were unsuccessful: reinforcement was taken from the The courage and ability of the part of the Turk fleet was already main defense which became, thus, defenders, especially the ones led by occupying the Golden Horn and, weaker29. The Turks were able to avoid Giustiniani, obliged Mehmed, in light under their protection, Mehmed an attack with fire ships against the of the possible failure of his artillery started to build a pontoon bridge so vessels that they were able to introduce that caused damages that would soon that his soldiers could reach the walls in the Golden Horn, thus consolidating be repaired to use another resource. more quickly. their presence although there were This time, they did so by digging This situation had a significant still some Venetian galleys in the galleries underneath the walls with impact on the development of the area. The rest of the Turk fleet tried the purpose of weakening their siege, while the Bizantine had to send unsuccessfully to force the entrance foundations and using the excavation reinforcement to the walls that were that was protected with chains. to get into the interior of the city. The defenders used to flood or fire the galleries when they found them. Rubén A. Barreiro There were even some underground Lawyer and master in War History from the Escuela Superior de Guerra and combats between opponents. As Member of the Instituto de Historia Militar Argentina. He has been guest professor this means failed, Mehmed used a of War History I and II of the master course in War History and researcher of powerful mobile tower made of wood Military History at the Escuela Superior de Guerra. Apart from books and articles whose purpose was to protect those related to his legal specialty, he is the author of “La Batalla de Taginae o Busta who worked to blind the that surrounded the walls and which was Callorum” that is part of the collective work “La táctica en las batallas de la seen as the main obstacle to destroy Historia (Buenos Aires, 2010); “Sarmiento y la primera rebelión jordanista”, in the them although a great part of them book “Los días de Sarmiento” (Buenos Aires, 2010) and “La Reconquista de Buenos were extremely damaged due to the Aires. Hito fundacional del Ejército Argentino”, which received the first prize in the bombing. When that purpose was competition organized by the Instituto de Enseñanza Superior del Ejército for the about to be reached, the defenders Two- hundred anniversary of the Reconquest. were able to destroy the tower by blowing it.

20 VISIÓN CONJUNTA NÚMERO 8

with their great war instruments This was the end of the millenary had not done much. Defenders may . have been exhausted by that time with few men and little material and To future the walls of the city have suffered The fall of Constantinople meant for serious damage. But not even one the Turks the platform through which soldier had gone through them. they could reach the centre of Europe There was also the danger that some in an expansion that would finish in help could arrive from the West31. the outskirts of Vienna in 1683, after Finally, during the first hours of being defeated by the Holy Roman Tuesday May 29, 1453, a first group of Empire and its allies. Said expansion Turks (bashi-bazouks) attacked the had been the strategic and geopolitical gate of Adrianople with the purpose target considered by the predecessors of making the defenders tired and of Mehmed, who made it possible making them spend ammunition. This by means of his decisive conquer attack was repelled after two hours, and later carried out by Suleiman but a second group of Anatolia troops the Magnificent33. The Ottoman that were more skilled and disciplined presence during more than centuries attacked taking advantage of the that said expansion lasted left some fact that defenders were exhausted traces (nowadays rooted) in terms although they were rejected by of culture, religion, ethnicity and Giustiniani and two Janissary groups, liguistics, among others, in great part about ten thousand of them were of . in combat. Giustiniani, who until But the fall of Constantinople The tactic of the sieged was to go that moment seemed to be the most also meant another expansion that out periodically trying to avoid a static successful, repelled one attack and is seen in the Bizantine legacy that defense. In light of the “dynamic tactic” another by the Turks, was seriously was left to the western civilization. of the sultan based on variable means, injured and had to withdraw from the In Byzantium, there was a merger of the defenders went out accessing the battlefield and died some days later in the Hellenistic tradition (language, terrain between the outer wall and the Chios where he was moved32. literatura, theology, worship) and ditch30. They kept going out until the A fifth group of attackers finished the Roman tradition (law, military last days of the siege. the fight. Constantinople was under tradition, diplomatics, state On May 7 and 12, the Turks the Turks domain; they had killed supremacy)34. Throughout the years launched the second and third attack more than four thousand people and and after its decline, Byzantium against the defenders of the walls there was looting and destruction of disappeared as a political institution which were repelled after a strong fight. churches and libraries for three days. but it had the traces of the symbiosis To the end of May, hope was Emperor Constantine died defending of the great traditions that, with the vanishing among Christians. On the the city in unkown circumstances. presence of the people who emigrated Turk field there was also a pessimist Several Venetian galleys and Genoese in 1453, had a powerful influence on and failure feeling. Siege was vessels could overcome the chain of the European Renaissance. already seven weeks and in spite the Golden Horn and fleed to the west. of all this, the strong Turk army Saint Sophie was dedicated to Allah. > Refereed Article

29. To fix those failures, there was crew of the Venetial galleys led by Gabriel Trevisan, which last combat, he decided to withdraw and the city was then in hands of the Janissary (Philippides, could explain the indiference of these ships in light of the presence of Turks vessels that Marios; op. cit.; p. 378). His withdrawal with a great number of his men, compared to his heroic had reached the interior of the Golden Horn. It is evident that this was the effect sought by performance was fiercely criticized by many of his comtemporary men and led to a discussion Mehmed with his daring movement. among historians, which was never fully solved, although the almost immediate death of the 30. Philippides, Marios; op. cit.; p. 497. Condottieri due to his injuries reasonably justifies his actions. 31. Runciman, Steve; op. cit.; p. 116. Among the Turks, there were those who fostered some kind of 33. It cannot be said that the Ottoman purpose did not have a strong religious aspect based on the arrangement with the Christians and there were even some proposals to stop the siege. Muslim expression which, as a paradox and simultaneously, was being expelled from Spain after 32. Giustiniani became the key commander of the defense of Constantinople. While he controlled the the long Reconquest path which started in Codavonga, eight hundred years before. operations, the city strongly resisted to Turk assault. Only after having been injured during the 34. Baynes, Norman H.; El Imperio Bizantino; Fondo de Cultura Económica; México; 1951; p. 195.

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